Bent A Twisted Au
by butterdoveluv
Summary: A look at a trauma free trio as they navigate their way through middle school and puberty. All three members get their own POVs , but this will have Dacey undertones.
1. Jo's Conundrum

Jo notices the changes. It's not like a tidal wave or some great big tsunami. She didn't wake up drowning in it, but she does see it. Senses it like beach water gliding over her toes as it crawls up the shore.

There something different between them. The dynamic is changing and is charged with something unfamiliar and scary.

It's not Jo and Lacey or Danny and Jo, but it's Danny and Lacey.

Sometimes he stares too long, or sits too close.

Sometimes she laughs too loud or smiles too big.

It's too different from what it used to be and Jo wonders if they are trying to make her feel excluded. They were suppose to be three best friends but something was growing and changing between Danny and Lacey, and it's evolving at such a strange pace that she can't tell if it's going to slow or moving too fast.

Maybe it was really just her, but why does it seem like Danny is constantly trying to touch Lacey? It's always presented as a game or some sort of teasing, but his hands seem to linger for no reason at all.

Why did it seem like Lacey was always looking for some reason to get his attention?

Why did he jump at the chance to give it to her?

Something was different. She didn't have to resort to her Nancy Drew persona to know things between the two were changing, but maybe her favorite character could use her skills for drawing out secrets to tell her exactly what had changed.

More importantly, why was it changing?


	2. Danny's Dilemma

Part of it was her legs. Never in his 13 years of life has he ever been so entranced by someone's legs. Lacey's were longer than most girls her age, and a warm brown color. Since the temperature had dropped considerably in the last few weeks, she had taken to covering them in socks that went up to her thighs. Sometimes she would pick socks that were loud colors like blues and oranges, but his favorite were the solid black ones. When she wore them Danny couldn't help but wonder what the patch of skin between her bottoms and the socks felt like. Was it as warm as it looked?

He and Lacey had been friends since they were six years old and he had never gotten in trouble for touching her, but something about that patch of skin seemed dangerous and forbidden. It made his throat dry and held his attention better than his father during a soccer discussion.

The other part is sticky and contained in a small cylinder tube. It's usually some shade of pink and she rolls it onto her lips through out the day. When he asked Jo what it was, she told him it was lip gloss. Apparently Lacey got them on a recent mall trip with Judy and her aunt. The lip gloss made her look older and more mature. A little like the women who cover his mother's favorite magazines.

The lip gloss along with the socks make Danny want something odd. Something a little strange that he had never wanted before. It made him want to send Lacey notes in the middle of class so he could see if she would smile back at him after reading it, or sit closer to her on the bus ride home. It made him want to make passes and score goals during soccer games so he could look over and see how proud she was of him for playing so well.

He had even started having dreams.

In the dreams Lacey would always wear a very pretty cream skirt and those damn socks. They would start out simple enough, but not long after he would find his arms around her waist and his mouth pressed against her moist bubblegum pink tinted lips. In the dreams the gloss taste like candy and he can't get enough of trailing his tongue along the seam of her mouth. Her hands would end up around his neck, and then the dream was over and Danny wakes up sweaty and …uncomfortable.

He had learned that those kind of dreams were normal for a boy his age. His father said it was all a part of turning into a teenager, and most of the other boys in his classes were probably having them too.

He also learned that his body's reaction to these sort of dreams were normal as well. Some of this he learned in school, but a lot of the discussion was brought forth after Danny's parents noticed he was washing his sheets for the fourth time in five days. This prompted his father into taking him for a drive and explaining puberty to him. It was embarrassing for the both of them, and Danny couldn't help but feel shame.

When his father tried to get him to respond more, he told him about the socks and the lip gloss and about his confusion when it came to Lacey. His father pulled into Mcnally park parking lot and told him that Lacey along with the other girls was turning into a teenager . That both boys and girls go through changes and that those changes have an affect on the other kids too.

When he asked him what to do about the confusion, his father's advice was less than satisfactory. He told Danny to tell her about his feelings. Let her know before someone else does. He told him that's the way these things work and that pretty girls often caught the eyes of more than just one boy.

The thought of Lacey spending time with another boy was almost as unsettling as the idea of him telling her about the changes in his body. He decided in that moment to maybe try and talk to his mother about it, because he honestly couldn't see anything but disaster if he told Lacey about his filthy sheets problem.

Author's Note:

I really wanted to upload one for each of the trio members, but I'm struggling with Lacey's chapter. It's coming, but I need to work with it more. I love Lacey so I think I might be a bit over critical, but Danny's was a pain in the ass too so..


	3. Lacey's choice

"You should totally go out with him Lacey!"

Pheobe's voice rang through the back seat of her father's car as she and Lacey waited for him to finish up some business before dropping them off at Pheobe's mother's house for the afternoon.

Pheobe was a very eccentric girl with a passion for dramatics. She always had to feature in every Green Grove production, and she swore up and down everyone would see her name in lights. That she would be photographed having dinner with Angelina Jolie and comforting Jennifer Aniston in her darker moments. Apparently the controversy would be good for her image.

Pheobe along with Sarita, and Regina were quickly becoming close friends of Lacey's. Up until now, the only other kids she felt close to were Jo and Danny. It was odd to spend so much time with kids who were not them, but she was enjoying the other girls. At first she felt a little guilty about having new friends, but her mom told her there was nothing wrong with making new friends as long as you remember to appreciate all the good people in your life. New friends were just a part of growing up.

Currently she and Pheobe were discussing a boy who was a year older than them. Archie Yates was the most popular boy at John Finnely middle school, and apparently rumors were flying around that he had something of a crush on Lacey Porter. The rumors made Lacey's cheeks heat up, but other than the slight embarrassment, she couldn't really articulate the way it made her feel. Archie was cute and tall and funny too, but the only boy Lacey ever really cared about period was Danny.

Danny was the first boy she ever loved. He was the first one to reach out to her and he invited her into the fold that would become the Danny-Jo-Lacey trio. Lacey had never given any other boy any thought. Sure there was the boys on tv who could dance and sing that every girl wanted to marry, but those hardly counted. Could she feel that way about Archie?

"Come onnnnn Lacey! Archie is completely in love with you! He'll be crushed if you turn him down."

"Pheobe, he hasn't asked me out. He's hardly said two words to me, I think you guys have got it all wrong. He probably doesn't even know me from a brown paper bag". Lacey loved Pheobe, but this was starting to become too much too soon. How did they go from the occasional rumor about Archie thinking she was cute to his undying love for her? Pheobe was good for that. Turning a situation that was meant to be a relaxed four, into a hyperventilating ten.

"So if he aks you out to the movies Friday you will say yes? Like for sure sure?"

"What do you mean by that? Has Archie really said something about asking me to the movies?"

"I can't say anything unless you say yes!"

" I don't know Pheobe. I need to think about this for a bit. How about I call you tomorrow afternoon after thinking about this."

"Lacey he literally the hottest guy in school, what is there to think about ? Unless…unlesssssss you have the hots for someone else!"

"No it's not that it. This just feels strange. I want to talk to Jo and Danny about it first !"

"OH MY GOD IS IT DANNY? I KNEW IT! I KNEW YOU TWO HAD SOMETHNG GOING ON. Huh. How does Jo feel about it? Ya know with you two being her best friends that might make things awkward."

" My goodness Pheobe! Relax, Danny and I are best friends. He's the only boy I have ever loved."

" You just confessed to loving Danny Desai and I'm the one making things weird ? Lacey youre not exactly forcing my hand here".

Lacey had to contain her sigh of frustration. This wasn't the first time someone accused her of having those sort of feelings for Danny. It was like some people just couldn't understand how a boy and a girl could just be best friends. Jesus, she and Danny had been friends since their sandbox days and back then no one accused them of being in love or boyfriend and girlfriend. It was really getting irritating how everyone kept forcing all these changes. Her parents were getting divorced and her father moved clear across the country to get away from them, all her mother did was cry and complain, people kept trying to push her and Danny into something they were not and now not only Pheobe but Sarita and Regina were all basically forcing her into going out with Archie Yates.

"Danny and I are best friends. Just like with Jo. I do love him. It's probably the most clear and defined relationship I have at the moment, but the way I feel about him is.."

"Just friends?"

"No. There is no just. Not when it comes to Danny and Jo. You'll understand when you get a real best friend Pheobe".

Lacey immediately regretted her words. The mood in the car suddenly became somber and Pheobe's constant chatter came to an abrupt halt. She wasn't sure how to go about apologizing. She never meant to hurt Pheobe's feelings, but at the same time she had to know how important Danny and Jo were to her. She cared for Pheobe deeply, but she wasn't Jo.

"Ya know Lacey, I used to have a real best friend, but then you came around and it's like Regina doesn't even notice me. The other day she called you her sister. It feels awful. Watching the two of you, I can't help but feel like I'm being replaced. I totally get it though. You're popular and pretty. All of the boys have their eyes on you, just like Regina. Hell, even Regina couldn't get Archie Yates to look her way, no wonder she want's you on her side. The two of you make the perfect package."

"Pheobe, I .."

"You should let Jo know how much she means to you. Danny too, trust me, watching your best friend be best friends with someone else feels awful".

The rest of the car ride to Pheobe's mom's house was spent in silence. When they arrived Pheobe spent the remainder of Lacey's visit doing a poor rendition of a 13 year old girl who didn't just get her feelings hurt.

That about sealed it. Lacey officially hated change and all of the heartbreak that always came with it.

Author's Note:

I know this is late as shit and to be honest I'm not all that happy with it but I feel like I needed to get this out or I would never be able to move forward. Mind you its damn near three am and I'm baby sitting five kids ages 3 months -8yrs old. I know I need to go through it with a fine tooth comb, but I was really anxious about getting it out tonight. Hope you like !


	4. Some kind of uncomfortable interlude

"What do you guys think about Archie Yates?"

Jo was hardly paying any attention to anything other than the math problem she was trying to solve. It was really hard. She had filled up an entire page trying to get an answer that checked out, but so far no luck. She was regretting turning down Rico's invitation to join him and the other mathletes for a study session. Those kids had probably already figured it out, and knowing Rico he was probably the one that got them there.

Rico had asked her earlier that day, but she Danny and Lacey had plans to see a movie to celebrate school letting out early on a Thursday. She had been so focused on the math problem that she must have missed whatever lead Lacey to ask her and Danny about one of his team mates.

" I don't really know the guy, just like I obviously have never met this math problem before. Do you have an answer that checks out yet?" Really though? Who cares about an Archie when she was going through pages of note book paper trying to solve one problem? Unless he figured it out and was planning on sharing his strategy, Jo had very little patience for whatever the heck an Archie was. Maybe if his parents spent more time figuring out complicated math problems, they would have exercised a brain that was too evolved to name a child Archie.

"Geeze Jo. Relax. We have an entire week to get through this assignment. And if did have the answer, what about your horrible attitude would make me want to share it?"

" Both of you should calm down. Jo go back to your homework. Lacey, I would be more than happy to let you in on all of Archie Yates' dirty little secrets. We share a lockeroom, the guy has nothing to hide from me, nor he I."

"Thanks Danny. So what's up? What do you really think about him?"

"He's cool. Bit of a meat head and he can be a jerk at times, but he's pretty kick ass on the field. We owe a number of goals to his swift feet. Why do you ask?"

"Oh well you see.. uh. He sorta asked me out on a date. Not really, but everyone keeps saying he's waiting to find out if I'll say yes before he actually asks me to go with him".

"You're dating now?" Jo had moments ago went back to scribbling out notes on the math problem from hell, but Lacey's words had once again broker her conversation. Lacey was dating now? Since when? How come she didn't come to her before it got this far. Maybe it was because she had went to someone else. Someone like Pheobe or Regina? Lacey's new friends were taking up more and more of her time. Lacey had even cancelled on them once to go out of town with Regina and her mom. Now they were telling secrets and dating and Jo was the last to find out.

" Jo you can't get all excited if you are only going to half listen to the conversation. I just said nothing's happened yet. He hasn't even asked me.."

"Good as. You just said he's too chicken shit to see if you will say yes without your little third party girl club patting his shoulder's through it!"

"Hey! You don't see me taking shots at Rico or Cole, so lay off my friends. It seems like when ever the world isn't spinning on Jo's axis, there's a problem with it! Right Danny? Danny?"

Danny Desai was nowhere to be found. Jo supposed he might have gone on a bathroom break, but he didn't even excuse himself even though he was in the middle of a conversation. That wasn't like his normal polite charming self. Not at all.

Jo wasn't sure where Danny might have ran off too, but who needs him around if all he was going to do was ignore Lacey's crap in order to keep the peace. If this had been last year, Danny and Jo would have been the first to know about Archie. Matter of fact, Archie would have went to Jo to ask about Lacey. Not the Barbie bunch Lacey had been spending so much time with. Even those vapid twitter brains and whatever the hell an Archie Yates was noticed something had changed with Lacey.

This wasn't fair. She and Lacey had been so close for so long. Now It seemed like she was drifting away at every turn. Her mother said the best solution would be to let Lacey know how she was feeling, but Jo didn't think that was fair either. Lacey claimed to be her best friend. She should notice if something was bothering her. Just like Jo notices how distant she's become since the school year started. No. She wasn't going to bug Lacey or beg her to include her in her nauseous group of air head friends.

"You figure out that math problem yet?"

Jo had to keep from snapping her number two pencil in her tight grip. If Lacey wanted to play dirty then Jo Masterson could suit up for that game too.

Author's Note:

Omg my niece sleeps wild. Currently trying to type and keep her elbow out of my ribs. Gotta love it when everyone wants you to babysit on the same night, right?


End file.
